Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Young made the American League manager look like a genius, lining a two-run triple with two outs in the ninth inning that beat the Nationals 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Along with a win, the Texas infielder left PNC Park with a trophy.

"Even coming to the All-Star game is humbling enough, but to be in this situation now where I have an All-Star game MVP is pretty exciting," he said.

Normally a shortstop, Young got into the game in the fifth inning at second base and stayed. That's normal for Young _ despite being the AL batting champion, he often gets overshadowed at his position by the likes of Derek Jeter and Miguel Tejada.

Now a three-time All-Star, he's also frequently overlooked by fans who do the voting for starting spots. Young was added to the AL roster as a reserve.

"I think he's one of the most underrated players in the American League," Guillen said. "This kid can do a lot of things and nobody talks about it."

The Chicago White Sox manager had a feeling Young would deliver. Actually, someone told him it would happen.

"Derek Jeter was telling one of my kids today, 'Michael will win the game if he comes to hit,'" Guillen said.

Young picked a perfect time for his first triple of the season. With the AL down to its last strike and facing Trevor Hoffman, Young sent a ball into the right-center field alley.

Young faced Hoffman last month, and singled off the San Diego closer. This time, Young quickly fell behind in the count.

"Down 0-2 to a guy like that is tough and I knew I had my work cut out for me," he said.

Young capped his big night by catching Carlos Lee's popup with a runner on second for the final out.

The victory gave the AL home-field advantage in the World Series. The Rangers have never made it that far, but with Young hitting .316 this season, they're tied with Oakland for the AL West lead.

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"Someone now is going to be in good shape come October, so we're very happy about that," he said.